There aren’t a ton of instances in which education reporters find themselves in potentially life or death situations, but in a long career they can happen.

Way back in Spring 2008, LA Times reporter Howard Blume fought to get himself on campus in the chaotic aftermath of a large-scale lunchtime disruption between groups of students.

image from latimesblogs.latimes.com

Last Spring during the unrest in Baltimore, Sun reporter Erica Green found herself in or near the thick of things.

And way back in 2001, WNYC reporter Beth Fertig covered 9/11. Watch her talk about that experience in the video below, produced last week in honor of the anniversary.

Beth Fertig – I had no idea what my job was that day from 911 Tribute Center on Vimeo.

There are certainly other examples — please let us know.

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Alexander Russo is a freelance education writer who has created several long-running blogs such as the national news site This Week In Education, District 299 (about Chicago schools), and LA School Report. He can be reached on Twitter at @alexanderrusso, on Facebook, or directly at alexanderrusso@gmail.com.